_________________________ -=/ Please Enter '1' Credit =- ************************************************************* *** Vagrant Story Walkthrough, Secrets, Hints and Tips *** ************************************************************* *** Date Created:- Sometime in the year 2000 *** *** Version:- 2.0 *** *** Created By:- PhoenixFire *** *** Edited By:- Richard Carruthers *** *** e-mail:- [email protected] *** *** [email protected] *** ************************************************************* *** Copyright (c) PhoenixFire / Gaming Dome Y2K *** ************************************************************* *** www.gamingdome.co.uk *** *** http://gamingdome.zzn.com *** *** http://pub26.ezboard.com/bgamingdomesboard *** ************************************************************* *** DISCLAIMER *** Unpublished work (c) PhoenixFire and Gaming Dome, 2000. This file is for personal/private use only. It can be reproduced electronically as long as the file isn't changed, this disclaimer, the copyright notice and my e-mail address appears along with whatever you have used from this file. This file can not be used to make money and that also means that I, PhoenixFire, can't make money from it either. This means that it cannot be used in any magazines in any way or form, printed out and then sold, or used as a prize etc. This file was created and is owned by PhoenixFire ([email protected]). If I find out that anyone has used this file inappropriately you will be dealt with in my own special way - you have been warned! This file is owned by Phoenix Fire and Gaming Dome. Vagrant Story is (c) Squaresoft *** INTRODUCTION *** Future versions of this file can be found at:- www.gamingdome.co.uk www.gamefaqs.com www.gameadvice.com www.psxcodez.com This file was created using the European PAL version of the game. Therefore there might be a few things that are slightly different to the NA versions (but I doubt it). If you need a question about VS answered and you cannot find the answer here (PLEASE, check for your answer in the FAQ first), e-mail me with the problem as the subject heading. I will then reply as soon as I can and add that piece of info into the newer version of the FAQ (Yes. There WILL be one, as long as my GCSE work doesn't get in the way!). Another way of getting me to help you within about 24 hours of asking is by posting on the Gaming Dome forum. If you add a post on either the consoles board or cheats board I will answer your question straight away. The address for the board is shown below. http://pub26.ezboard.com/bgamingdomesboard VS is a complicated game and this FAQ might be also, but remember this:- "Real programmers don't document. If it was hard to write, it should be hard to understand." *** Version History *** Version 1.0 Available ONLY at www.gamefaqs.com (in other words it wasn't even available at Gaming Dome) and contained a few errors. Version 1.1 Added Lilac Man's e-mail address, and the address for Gaming Dome e-mail and the Gaming Dome forums, as well as the address for some other sites the FAQ is available at. While I was at it I corrected some of my mistakes on the Snowfly Forest map. Version 2.0 This is it! And this is what I did..... Added stuff about the Hand Of Light in the Ultimate Weapons section. Added the Sigil item list. Added in my review of Vagrant Story. Added more stuff to the credits section. Added the Author's Note and Editor's note sections. I began to write the walkthrough. -= Gaming Dome Message =- Gaming Dome - More Than Just Games www.gamingdome.co.uk Gaming Dome is a site made by gamers for gamers. At GD you will find pages on music about bands from Semisonic to Iron Maiden. You will find coverage of some Motor Sport events, among pages upon pages of games. Do you want to help on GD? Do you have a DC, N64, PSX, PS2, PC, GameBoy etc. ? If you do want to contribute please contact us! Go to http://gamingdome.zzn.com to get your very own Gaming Dome e-mail address absolutely free! Go to http://pub26.ezboard.com/bgamingdomesboard and post a message on the Gaming Dome board about anything you want. *** ABOUT THE AUTHOR - PhoenixFire *** All I am gonna say is that I am in the GCSE year of school, and I live in sunny England. While writing this FAQ I am listening to Semisonic and Iron Maiden (Pleasure e.p., "Fine" and Brave New World respectively). As I am in the GCSE year I am about to have some VERY big tests (As in fail these and your life is over type tests), this means that this FAQ might get out of date quite quickly, but I will see what I can do. I mean, two versions in less than a week? That's a miracle.... *** CONTENTS *** 01.0 The Game System - My Review - Background Info - Info needed to play - Menu Controls - Ingame Controls - The Battle System and Controls 02.0 The Maps 03.0 The Walkthrough - First Play - The Iron Maiden - Re-Play 04.0 Magic - Warlock - Shaman - Sorcery - Enchanter - Teleportation 05.0 Break Arts 06.0 Battle Abilities 07.0 Risk 08.0 Traps 09.0 Weapons 10.0 The Workshop 11.0 The Creative Process - Combining Weapons - Ultimate Weapon Combos - Creating Weapons - Finalising The Weapons - Combining Armour - Combining Shields 12.0 Items - Blades - Grips - Gems - Armour (Including Shields) - Accessories - Misc. - Sigils 13.0 The "Score" Option - The Titles / Ranks - Riskbreaker Rank - Encyclopaedia (The Monster List) 14.0 Other Areas Of The Game (i.e. secrets, extras, etc.) - Evolve OR Die - The Wines - Training Dummies - Game Bugs 15.0 Frequently Asked Questions AA.A That Bit At The End - Credits - Thankyous - Author's Note - Editor's Note *** 01.0 The Game System *** Vagrant Story is a complex game. That is why there is this FAQ. And this section. This section tells you all the controls, background info etc. that you need to know to play VS. -= 01.1. My Review =- I though that as this review is on Gaming Dome it might as well be here in my Vagrant Story FAQ also. -= MY REVIEW =- As you may have gathered we here at GD don't spend any money on the site, don't gain money and most importantly of all have to buy our own games so we can make this site. This is why I was slightly annoyed when I walked into my locals games shop (Who will remain un-named) to find that I couldn't get a copy of Vagrant Story. I was told, "Come back in a few days". Fine, I thought. A few days is good. The next day I was getting bored and decided to go and see if I could get VS. They had a copy all right. As soon as I had handed over the dummy case for the game they had to remove the only copy of VS in the store from the Top 10 chart so I could by it. I got home, sat down watched the intro and thought, "How do you fight?", as I was getting attacked, "Better read the manual" What IS Vagrant Story? The simple explanation would be that it is the brand new game from the creators of the Final Fantasy series. At this point you think of the other games that have been made by Square - Ehrgeiz and Chocobo Racing for example. Does this mean that as it isn't Final Fantasy it is gonna be bad? Well, for a change it doesn't. Anyway, back to the point. Vagrant Story is a cross between and RPG and an action game. This new breed has created this wonderful game. Fans who just like RPG's might not like this as it involves lots of combat and bosses before you get a bit more of the story, but those who like action games might find that there is too much story in it for their liking. The intro to this game is, to put it simply, amazing AND different. No other game I have played has an intro like this. This has the best intro of any game I own. You turn on your PlayStation and after the Square logo is some FMV. FMV you think, very nice. There is, however, no more FMV after this point in the game. Instead the games graphics engine provides all the cut-scenes (like Metal Gear Solid). Another reason why the intro stands out is that when you select New Game from the main screen you are taken to the cut-scene and then you are taken into two battles before the game even starts. Vagrant Story is set in an imaginary world in the town of Lea Monde. You control a Riskbreaker called Ashley Riot. Riskbreakers work alone and the chances of one coming out of a mission alive are slim. So off Ashley goes into Lea Monde, on his own, after a mad man with magical powers. Not to forget Ashley's own mysterious past, which brings him help and hindrance throughout the game. The battle system. Get used to it, you're gonna need it a lot when your playing this game. Unlike the Final Fantasy games it isn't turned based. Instead you choose a weapon, whether it be sword, axe, dagger etc. and the type of that weapon, whether it be Blunt, Piercing or Edge. Having giving yourself a weapon you can open up the targeting sphere after entering the battle mode. Once in the targeting sphere you can attack anything within the green sphere. You can attack things like the enemies and crates to help you solve some of the puzzles that are in your way. When you have access to Chain Abilities you can have "chains" of attacks going on, in theory, forever. To chain an attack you press one of the attack buttons at the point the weapon hits the enemy. You also have available to you Defence Abilities that you can use when you are being attacked. Apart from this you get the standard (ish) set of magic spells (Or should that be Magick?). The individual weapons have their own special moves called Break Arts (Limit Breaks of sorts). Inside the city of Lea Monde are workshops. In the workshops you can create your own weapons and pieces of armour. You do this by piecing together blades and grips (for weapons) and combining pieces or armour to create new armour. You can also create new blades by combining two blades. When you do this, the characteristics of the two blades are combined creating one "Ultimate" blade. When you have finished making your weapons you can give them names (or more to the point you have to). This means you could create weapons called...Masamune, Braver or Fire Saber (If you wanted). After every boss there is an "End of level screen". This screen displays your current score, how much of the map you have seen and your Riskbreaker rank. Apart from this you can improve your stats by pressing circle to be given a special bonus. Oh, yeah. Did I mention that when you finish the game you can start again with the same weapons and armour you finished with? Yup, that's right. One of Chrono Trigger's best features has been brought into Square's new masterpiece. So, is this game any good? Well, actually, yes it is. The story is brilliant; the graphics are perfect and run really smoothly, the music adds to the atmosphere of the game and makes it complete. The only down side is, if you don't like both RPGs and action games your probably not going to like this too much. Graphics: - 10 out of 10 I don't believe this. These graphics are amazing and better than FF8. The PlayStation cannot get better graphics. I await to be proved wrong.... Gameplay: - 8 out of 10 A good game but the RPG/Action game could be improved here and there. Lifespan: - 9 out of 10, Be careful. Rush it and you will lose all the depth and could get bored easily. Take it step by step. Then again, I'm addicted to it. Overall: - 9 out of 10 A brilliant game, with some very minor problems here and there. Go and get this today if you don't live in Canada. If you do live in Canada complain to the government about the French/English thing and then buy the game. -= 01.2. Background Info =- The manor of Duke Bardorba of Valendia Kingdom was captured by a religious cult known as Mullenkamp. A few innocent people were murdered, but the news of the incident was kept quiet. Sydney Losstarot, the leader of Mullenkamp, has not been seen since the event, although there were several sightings of a Dragon as the manor went up in flames. Luckily the Duke was away during the seizure of the manor, but one-week later an unknown person took the Dukes life. Suspected of this murder is Riskbreaker Ashley Riot of the Valendia Knights of Peace (VKP). He disappeared shortly after the Duke was murdered. During the week between the capture of the manor and the murder of the Duke, Ashley Riot made a peculiar visit to the town of Lea Monde. What happened during his week in the mysterious city? Did he kill the Duke? You play as Ashley Riot...You play the crucial week and see for yourself what happened. -= 01.3. Info Needed To Play (And Understand the FAQ =- -= Key =- X = X Button DP = Damage Points EXP = Experience T = Triangle Button PP = Phantom Points ORD = Original Stats of item O = Circle Button L1 = L1 Button EQP = Current Stats of item S = Square Button L2 = L2 Button STR = Strength L = Left R1 = R1 Button AGL = Agility R = Right R2 = R2 Button INT = Intelligence U = Up HP = Hit Points D = Down MP = Magic Points -= Screen Displays =- On the game screen you will see various different things. These tell you everything you need to know - where you are, what doors can be opened, and how healthy you are. In the top left corner of the screen you will see something like this:- +---------------------------------- | | HP 250·250 MP 92·92 HP - Shows how many HP you can have and what | ------------- ------------- your health is currently like. | ------------- MP - Shows how many MP you can have and what | RISK 100 your MP is currently like. | RISK - What your concentration is like. Bar is in percentages. In the bottom right corner of the screen is the map of the room you are currently in. Red dots show where you have come from, blue dots show doors leading to new areas, white dots show doors and a padlock shows locked doors. In the bottom left of the screen in the limb gauge. The shows how healthy different parts of Ashley are. -= Menu Options =- Battle Abilities When you have selected his option from the menu you will be shown a number with PT following it. That is the amount of kills you have to get before you can attain the next ability. Status From this screen you can see how healthy Ashley is, how much MP he has and what his RISK is. You can also see this about the enemies and their affinities if you cast analyze on them. If you don't you will just see the enemy with ??? where the stats would normally go. Options Timing Display - Turns the "!" visible when doing chains On or Off. Weapon Status - Displays any change to weapon status in the bottom left corner of the screen when turned on. Armour Status - As above but for armour. -= 1.4. Menu Controls =- O = Execute commands X = Cancel S = Not Used T = Exit Menu screen L1 = Switch menu Switch characters L2 = Not Used R1 = Switch menu Switch characters R2 = Not Used -= 1.5. InGame Controls =- U = Move and grip Climb D = Change view in the Free-Look Mode R = Go Right L = Go Left SELECT = Zoom In, Zoom Out. START = Enter Free-Look, Skip video or cut scene. O = Execute command Enter battle mode X = Cancel Open doors and chests Move cubes End free look S = Jump T = Enter Menu L1 = Rotate map anticlockwise L2 = Shortcut Menu R1 = Rotate map clockwise R2 = Walk, when using D-Pad or Analogue sticks -= 01.6. The Battle System and Controls =- U = Move L = Select Target R = Select Target D = Change view in Free-Look O = Execute command Open and close targeting sphere X = Cancel Open doors and treasure chests Close targeting Sphere Switch to Normal Mode End Free-Look S = Jump T = Display main menu L1 = Rotate anticlockwise L2 = Shortcut Menu R1 = Rotate map clockwise R2 = Walk when using D-Pad or analogue stick. *** 02.0 Maps *** Below is a rough (and I do mean rough) map of the different areas in Vagrant Story. It is not yet finished as I have yet to go through a second time. If you feel you are able to add to these maps please send me a scanned picture of the areas you are wanting to add or send them to me in a zipped text file like the maps below. I have also missed off quite a few doors locked with Sigils, latches, one way mechanisms and keys etc.. I am hoping to sort this out ASAP. I would appreciate if someone would be able to tell me where these doors are so I can add them to this file sooner than I would be able to otherwise. -= Key =- * - Save Point Cont - Container W/S - Workshop C OR C. - Chest Latch - Door is on a latch 1 Way - It's a One Way Door ? Sigil - Locked with the specified sigil ? Key - Locked with the Specified key RI - Locked with the Rood Inverse -= The Map List =- Here is a list of the maps in the order that they can be seen both in the game and in the FAQ. - Wine Cellar - Great Cathedral L3 - City Walls West - Catacombs - Great Cathedral L4 - City Walls South - Sanctum - Forgotten Pathway - City Walls East - Abandoned Mines B1 - Escapeway - City Walls North - Abandoned Mines B2 - Iron Maiden B1 - Snowfly Forest - Limestone Quarry - Iron Maiden B2 - Snowfly Forest East - Temple Of Kiltia - Iron Maiden B3 - Town Centre West - Great Cathedral B1 - Undercity West - Town Centre South - Great Cathedral L1 - Undercity East - Town Centre East - Great Cathedral L2 - The Keep -= The Wine Cellar =- _______ | | START Chamomile Sigil __| |__ GAME | _____ | BOSS | _____ __ ________ __ __ ________ | _____ _____ | | |__ CHEST __| | | |* | | | | | | | | | | |_____| | | EXIT |_____| |__| * |__| |__| | |_____| |_____| |_______| | | Cont |__| |________| To Catacombs _______ | | ____ W | | | | | C. | S + N | | | | |____| E ______ | | |________| __ / | | ______ __| |__ ______ ______ ______ ___ / BOSS | | | | | | | | | | | | |*C | | C. | |_______| |______| |________| |______| |______| |______| |___| | | | / Later on locked ______/ with Stock Sigil -= Catacombs =- _______ To Wine Cellar ____ | C | EXIT | C. | _| __| __ |____| | | | Cont ______ |______| | * ______ ______ | | ____ _____ | | | | | | | | |_ _| | __| |______| |______| | | | _| |_ | |______| |____| |_____| ___ __ W / | | | S + N / / | | E / / |__| / / / / __ / / | | | | ___ | | _______ | C| | | |__| | |___| |___| | ________ __ ______ | _______ | | | | | ___ | | | | | | _| _____ | | |W/S| Cont. | | |_______| | | | | | * | |_*_| "Work Of Art" | / |________| | | |______| | / |___________| EXIT |_______/ To Sanctum Lily Sigil -= Sanctum =- ______ E | | N + S _____________ | BOSS | W | | | | ______ _____ |______| |__|_______|__| | | |CHEST| ___ ________ _____________ |______| |_____| ________ | | ________ | | __| | | | ________ _Latch__ | | |___| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |_ EXIT | | BOSS | | | *Cont | | | | | | | | |________| | | |__ | | | |________| |________| | _| To Town |________| |__|_______|__| __ ________ | | Centre West | | | | |________| | |__ |________| |_____| EXIT To Catacombs -= Abandoned Mines B1 =- ___ ____ __ | Fern Sigil | | | | | _____ To Town Centre West EXIT | | |BOSS| | |||__ | |___/ |____| |__/ __| __ ___ | | | C | |__| E |___| __ N + S __ _____ | | W ____ |* |__ | | __| | | _| |_ __| |BOSS | |_____| | | __ |_____| |__| __ Silver Key___ | | ____ |C. | |__| | C | |___| __ |____| _| | _______ / | To City Wall West | | |_____| | ______ _______ | |Hyacinth Sigil | | ____| | | |_______| | |_| |_______| Latch _ _ | | | _/ /_ __ __ ____ _| | EXIT | * | | | | | | | | | | / |_ _| |__| |__| |____| |___| |_/ _ BOSS ___ | C | |___| -= Abandoned Mines B2 =- _____ | __| Undercity West N |__| W + E __________ S | | | BOSS | |__________| ___ ___________ | | | | |___| Chest ____ __ | * |Iron Key | __| | C| ____ | | ____ ____ |_| |__| | __| |___________| | _||_ | _ | | 1 Way ___1 Way |__| |__| | |_ ____ |_| / Town __ | _||__ | ____ /_____ Centre | | | | | | |BOSS| Undercity South |__| |_| |_| |____| West ____ _ _ _ |BOSS| | |_ _| |_ _| | ____ | _| |_ _||_ | |_*__| |_| |_| |_| ____ __ _ _ _ | | _| |_ |_|_ __| | _/ | C. ||______||____||____| _ |____| |_| | | _ | | ____ _| |_ ____ ___| | | C. ||_____||____||_____| |____| -= Limestone Quarry =- _____ ________ ___ Temple Of | | | | | | N Kiltia |_____| |__ __| |___| CHEST W + E Silver Key |__| S __ | | |__| _____ __ Silver Key | | ______ _| |_ _____ ___ |CHEST| |_ _| |______| |_ _| |___| Chest |_____| |__| |_| Gold Key _____ _ | | / To Temple |_____| ___ /___ Of Kiltia __ | | ___ ____ | |_ |___| _| |_ _______ |EXIT| | * _| | __| |_______| |____ | |____| |__| |_|__| _(EX)_ |__| (EX) - EXIT To Undercity West ____ ____ ______ / _______ |BOSS| / | | / | | |____| __/ | | _/ | | __ __ |______| _______ |_______| | |___ __| | ____ | | ____ |______| |_____| / | BOSS. | / /______ |_______| /______ __ __ __ _____ | |___ _|* |_ __| |__ | | |______| |______| |________| |Chest| |_____| -= Temple Of Kiltia =- __________________ ______ | | Silver Key | | Town Centre |___________ | | __ ___| |___ East _______ _____ | | |__| |__ | BOSS | _________EXIT EXIT |* Cont.| | | |______| | | | | | | | |_______| |_____| |__ __| | | |_________| | ___ |__| |___ ___| Limestone | | ________ | | Quarry | |__________ | BOSS | |______| | | | CHEST. | |______________| | | W EXIT |________| S + N Limestone Quarry E Silver Key -= Great Cathedral B1 (GCB1) =- _______ | BOSS. | |_______| ___________ __ __ | | | |______| | W | BOSS. | | BOSS | S + N | | | ______ | E |___________| |__| |__| _______ _____________ _______ | | | | | | |_______| | | |_______| EXIT |_____________| EXIT GCL1 EXIT GCL1 GCL1 -= Great Cathedral L1 (GCL1) =- GCL2 _____ EXIT_____ | | W | | |_____| S + N ________ |_____| ____ ____ E | Cont * | _____________ ____ | | | | | | | | __| |__ | | | |____ | | | | | BOSS | | | | | | | | |__ __| | | | ____/ | | |_____________| |____| | | | | |________| EXIT _____ |____| |____| GCB1 | | _____EXIT EXIT EXITS TO |_____| | | GCL2__| GCB1, GCL2 EXIT|_____| Town Centre East GCB1 -= Great Cathedral L2 (GCL2) =- _____ _____ EXIT | | ___________ | | W GCL1 | | | | | | S + N |_____| | | |_____| E |___________| ___ ____________________ ___ / | _____ | | | / | ________ __| |__ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | EXIT| | | | | | | | | | GCL3| |________| |__ __| | | | | | |_____| | | | / ___| _____ ____________ |____________________| |___/ EXIT | | | | _____ EXIT GCL1 | | | | | | GCL1 |_____| |____________| | | |_____| EXITS TO :- GCL1, GCL3 -= Great Cathedral L3 (GCL3) =- _________ | | W | | S + N | | E |_________| ____ _______________________________ ____ / | | | |EXIT / EXIT| | | |GCL4 / GCL2| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | / | | | | / ____| |_______________________________| |____/ _________ | | | | EXIT | | GCL1 |_________| -= Great Cathedral L4 (GCL4) =- GCL3 EXIT _____ / W / S + N / E | | | *. | | | / / _____/ EXIT Final Battle -= Forgotten Pathway =- ____ E | C. | N + S |____| W __ _________ | |_ | | _____ Gold Key | _| | BOSS | | | EXIT |__| | | |_____| The Keep ____ |_________| | C. | |____| -= Escapeway =- ______ | | EXIT | __| To Undercity West | | |___| ___ | | | |__ ______ | | | | E |______| |__ | N + S | | W |___| Silver Key ___ _______ ___| |__ | | ______ EXIT | | | | | | To |___ __| | | |__ | Undercity |_______| | | West ____ |___| ______ Gold Key ______ | C. | | C. | | | | | |______| |______| -= Iron Maiden B1 =- Right then. My theory (It's probably wrong but I'm gonna tell you it anyway) is that the team who worked on Vagrant Story are fans of Metal Music, and in particular "Iron Maiden". I mean the rooms have names that could only come from Metal bands or songs, and there is a room in Iron Maiden B3 called "The Iron Maiden". Now unless I am very much mistaken (as I usually am) this is the name of a song on Iron Maiden's Debut album "Iron Maiden". Anyway, back to the maps. Oh, you might find the maps a bit confusing but all will become clear when you have left the Iron Maiden. N EXIT W + E _____ To The Keep S | | / _/ _______ | | | | |_______| Mandrake Sigil ________ ______ _____ ________ | | | |- | | ---------| | | ____| |______|- |_____| ---------|____ | | | _______ | | |___| | | |___| | | | | | | __|_|__ |_______| | | | BOSS. | ______ ___ ______ | | | | | C. | ___| |___ | C. | | | |_______| | | | | | | | | ___ |______| |___ ___| |______| | | | | |___| | | | | ___ ______ _|_|_ | |_______ ___| |___ | C. | | | | |-----| | | | |_____| |___________|-----|___________| |______| _______ _________ ________ | BOSS. | | | | | | | | _____| |_____ | |_______| | | |__| ___ |___| __ | | Iron Key_______ _____ __| |__ ____| | | | | | | | | | |_____| |CHEST| |________| |________| Steel Key |_____| __|_|__ | | | BOSS. | |_______| EXIT Iron Maiden B2 -= Iron Maiden B2 =- Okay. This is slightly complicated and you wish there was a save point handy. Why? Hard enemies and .... warping. That's right, the same type of warping as found in the Snowfly Forests. That is why I have labelled all the rooms, and the exits. The labels on the exits show which room you will be taken to next. I hope this helps. At the Iron Maiden B2 section in the walkthrough (when it's written) you will find a way of revealing ALL the rooms in the Iron Maiden B2. Anyway, Let the map commence! -= The Room Directory =- 1 - The Eunic's Lot 9 - The Shin Vice H - Strangulation 2 - Ordeal By Fire A - The Spider I - Tablillas 3 - The Oven at Neisse B - Lead Sprinkler J - Ordeal By Water 4 - Pressing C - Squassation K - Tongue Slicer 5 - The Mind Burns D - The Strappado L - Brank 6 - The Rack E - Thumbscrews M - Tormentum Insomniae 7 - The Saw F - Pendulem N - EXIT To Iron Maiden B3 8 - The Cold's Bridle G - Dragging . What you will see below is mostly Matt's FAQ although I have added a few pieces in. These can be identified by the [ ] that I have typed in. +-----------+ | FAQ START | +-----------+ Introduction *What is an Ultimate Weapon?* An Ultimate Weapon is a weapon with 100 in all classes and affinities. Ideally the weapon will also be made of Damascus. *Why should I make an Ultimate Weapon?* The first time I played through Vagrant Story I did okay. But the final battle with Guildenstern was a bear. I did not use combos for most of the game which was a mistake. So I spent a couple of hours nickel and diming him to no avail. Then I hit upon using a Heavy Shot/Crimson Pain combo and that worked much better. But I was still only doing about 15 points of damage on a critical hit. I eventually beat him but it was a pain. [ Sounds like me. Took the best part of 2 hours to kill him... ] Fast-forward to my first replay game. After spending a lot of hours building an ultimate weapon (Hagane Romphaia, Spiral Hilt, Tertia, Tertia, Braveheart) the final battle with Guildenstern went much better. I killed his final form in one 5 chain combo (Heavy Shot/Crimson Pain). I was pleasantly surprised. I expected to do well but this was terrific. Some credit has to go to my increased stats, but most of the credit I think has to go to the weapon. Before I continue I should say that my weapon isn't even quite as ultimate as it could be. It is not Damascus and I really would like to have Arturos gems. But after at least two dozen hours of spelunking in Iron Maiden B2/B3 I could not come up with one lousy Holy Win Blade. My girlfriend can attest to the hours I wasted on this quest. So I settled for Hagane and lower quality gems. But the results cannot be argued with. The GameFAQs Vagrant Story message board has a lot of info on ultimate weapon building. That's where I got the method I used, the method I'm writing about here. But to get to the info you have to wade through thousands of posts over 2 or 3 months. So I decided to write this and put all it in one place. Here it is. =============================================================================== The Method The method I used is a four blade method. There are some three blade methods out there. I like the four blade method. It ensures that there will be no conflicting classes/affinities. And once you have the blades it doesn't take any longer that a three blade method. You still have to spend the same amount of time whacking away at training dummies no matter how many blades you are going to eventually combine. Blade 1 - Dragon / Beast / Physical For the first blade head to The Boys Training Room in City Walls South. Attack the Dragon dummy there until your Dragon class and Physical affinity are up to 100. Then travel to The Dark Tunnel in Abandoned Mines B1. Use the Beast dummy there until your Beast class is up to 100. Set that blade aside. Blade 2 - Phantom / Human / Earth / Darkness / Water For the second blade go to From Boy To Hero in City Walls North. Attack the Phantom dummy there until your Phantom class is up to 100. Then travel to the Worker's Breakroom in The Wine Cellar. Attack only the Right Arm, Left Arm, and head until your Human Class and Earth, Water, and Darkness affinities are up to 100. Set that blade aside. Blade 3 - Human / Fire / Air For the third blade stay in the Worker's Breakroom in The Wine Cellar. With the same dummy attack only the Body and Legs until your Human class and Fire and Air affinities are up to 100. Set that blade aside. Blade 4 - Undead / Evil / Light For the fourth blade go to the Hall Of Sworn Revenge in The Catacombs. Attack the Undead dummy until your Undead class is up to 100. From there go to Gharme's Walk in Town Centre East. Attack the Evil Dummy there until your Evil class and Light Affinity are up to 100. =============================================================================== 4. Assembly The best place to assemble your weapon is the Godhands workshop. This workshop is only available on replay. If you want to build an ultimate weapon on first play I suggest Junction Point workshop. Just make sure none of the blades you will be combining are Silver or Damascus. Combining these blades and assembling this weapon is similar to combining and assembling any other with just a couple of key differences. I will now go into detail on how to combine and assemble the ultimate weapon of each weapon type. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ultimate Dagger Blade 1 - Baselard Blade 2 - Baselard Blade 3 - Stiletto Blade 4 - Holy Win Hilt - Spiral Hilt Gems - Arturos, Arturos, Arturos First combine the two Baselards to get another Stiletto. Then combine the two Stilettos to get a Jamadhar. Then combine the Holy Win with the Jamadhar. This should create a Damascus Jamadhar with 100 in all classes/affinities. Assemble the blade with a spiral hilt, and 3 Arturos gems. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ultimate One-Handed Sword Blade 1 - Romphaia Blade 2 - Romphaia Blade 3 - Romphaia Blade 4 - Holy Win Hilt - Spiral Hilt Gems - Arturos, Arturos, Arturos Combine the three Romphaias. Then combine the Romphaia with the Holy Win. This should result in a Damascus Romphaia with 100 in all classes/affinities. Assemble the blade with a spiral hilt and 3 Arturos Gems. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ultimate Two-Handed Sword Blade 1 - Holy Win Blade 2 - Holy Win Blade 3 - Holy Win Blade 4 - Holy Win Hilt - Spiral Hilt Gems - Arturos, Arturos, Arturos Combine all four Holy Wins. This results in a Damascus Holy Win with 100 in all classes/affinities. Assemble the blade with a Spiral Hilt and affix 3 Arturos Gems. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ultimate One-Handed Axe Blade 1 - Tabar Blade 2 - Tabar Blade 3 - Bullova Blade 4 - Holy Win Hilt - Elephant Gems - Arturos, Arturos, Arturos Combine the two Tabars. This should result in another Bullova. Combine the two Bullovas. This results in a Crescent. Combine the Crescent with the Holy Win. This should result in a Damascus Crescent with 100 in all classes/affinities. Assemble the blade with an Elephant grip and 3 Arturos gems. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ultimate Two-Handed Axe Blade 1 - Balbriggan Blade 2 - Balbriggan Blade 3 - Sabre Halberd Blade 4 - Sabre Halberd Hilt - Elephant Gems - Arturos, Arturos, Arturos Combine the first Balbriggan and Sabre Halberd. This results in a Double Blade. Combine the second Balbriggan and Sabre Halberd. This results in a Double Blade. Combine the two Double Blades. This results in a Halberd with 100 in all classes/affinities. Assemble the blade with an Elephant grip and 3 Arturos gems. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ultimate One-Handed Mace Blade 1 - War Hammer Blade 2 - War Hammer Blade 3 - Bec De Corbin Blade 4 - Holy Win Hilt - Elephant or Grimoire Grip Gems - Arturos, Arturos, Arturos or Arturos, Arturos Combine the two War Hammers. This results in a Bec De Corbin. Combine the two Bec De Corbins. This should give you a War Maul. Combine the War Maul with the Holy Win. This should result in a Damascus War Maul with 100 in all classes/affinities. Assemble the blade with either an Elephant or a Grimoire Grip. Affix either 2 or 3 Arturos Gems. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ultimate Two-Handed Mace Blade 1 - Hand Of Light Blade 2 - Hand Of Light Blade 3 - Hand Of Light Blade 4 - Hand Of Light Hilt - Elephant or Grimoire Grip Gems - Arturos, Arturos, Arturos or Arturos, Arturos Combine all four Hands Of Light. This should give you a Hand of Light with 100 in all classes/affinities. Assemble the blade with either a Elephant grip or a Grimoire Grip. Affix either 2 or 3 Arturos gems. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ultimate Staff Blade 1 - Shamanic Staff Blade 2 - Summoner's Baton Blade 3 - Bishop's Crossier Blade 4 - Holy Win Hilt - Elephant or Grimoire Grip Gems - Arturos, Arturos, Arturos or Arturos, Arturos Combine the Shamanic Staff with the Summoner's Baton. This gives a Bishop's Crossier. Combine the two Bishop's Crossiers. This results in a Sage's Cane. Combine the Sage's Cane with the Holy Win. This should result in a Damascus Sage's Cane with 100 in all classes/affinities. Assemble the blade with either an Elephant grip or a Grimoire Grip. Attach 3 or 2 Arturos Gems. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ultimate Polearm Blade 1 - Pole Axe Blade 2 - Pole Axe Blade 3 - Pole Axe Blade 4 - Pole Axe Hilt - Spiral Pole Gems - Arturos, Arturos, Arturos Combine the two Pole Axes. This results in another Bardysh. Combine the other two Pole Axes. This results in another Bardysh. Combine the two Bardysh. This gives a Damascus with 100 in all classes/affinities. Assemble the blade with a spiral pole grip. Attach 3 Arturos gems. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ultimate Crossbow Blade 1 - Lug Crossbow Blade 2 - Lug Crossbow Blade 3 - Seige Bow Blade 4 - Holy Win Hilt - Sonic Bullet Gems - Arturos Combine the two Lug Crossbows. This results in a Seige Bow. Combine your two Seige Bows. This results in an Arbalest. Combine the Arbalest with the Holy Win. This gives you a Damascus Arbalest with 100 in all classes/affinities. Assemble the blade with a Sonic Bullet Grip and attach 1 Arturos gem. =============================================================================== 5. Notes *Obtaining The Holy Win & Romphaia* On second play or later the Iron Maiden B2 and Iron Maiden B3 are accessible. If you enter these areas with 150 or less hit points you encounter different enemies Normally there are shriekers, ogres, and liches. With less than 150 HP you run into Dark Crusaders and one Last Crusader. The Dark Crusaders are armed with Romphaias, the best one handed sword available. The Last Crusader carries the Holy Win blade, the best two handed sword. They will drop these swords rarely. Very rarely. I spent at least 20 hours in the IMB2/3 and only had 6 Romphaias and no Holy Wins to show for it. I've heard of others obtaining as many as 6 Holy Wins in only 2 hours of trying. As far as I tell there is no sure way of getting them to drop what you want. With the rarer items, at least, it appears pretty random. *Obtaining The Hand Of Light* The Hand Of Light is the best two handed mace in the game. It is obtained by battling the various Minotaur Bosses. They drop it rarely. About as rarely, I hear, as the Holy Win is dropped. I didn't spend as much time looking for one of these as I have little interest in two-handed weapons, I like using shields. *Combining With The Holy Win Blade* The most useful thing about the Holy Win blade is its use as a metal converter. When certain sufficiently powerful blades are combined with the Holy Win the result is that blade in the superior Damascus material. This is the best way to make most weapon into Damascus. *Limitations Of The Holy Win* You cannot make use a Holy Win to convert a Hand Of Light blade into Damascus. The Holy Win also will not convert two-handed axes, two-handed maces, or polearms into Damascus. The best way to make ultimate weapons of these types Damascus is to start with Damascus components. I know this is not easy, but its the best I can do within the scope of this document. I suggest Jay Tilton's Combination Guide. *How Many Holy Wins Do I Need?* To make a complete set of ultimate weapons you will need 10 Holy Win blades. This is enough to convert all the weapons that you can to Damascus and to create an ultimate Holy Win blade. *Alternate Ultimate Two-Handed Mace* An alternate method of creating an ultimate two-handed mace is to use four Mjolnir blades. This gives you a Destroyer blade with 100 in all classes/affinities. Not having a Hand Of Light or a Destroyer to compare I don't know which one has higher base stats. I suspect it will be the Hand Of Light, but if you really enjoy the ultimate weapon making process or are having problems getting Hands of Light here's how to make a non Hand Of Light ultimate two-handed mace. *Elephant or Grimoire Grip* When choosing a grip for your maces and staff you have a couple of choices. The Elephant grip is not the best for blunt weapons but it does have 3 gem slots. The Grimoire Grip is the best grip for blunt weapons but it only has 2 gem slots. It's your call but I'd go for the Elephant. *Arturos Gems* Another reason to spend some time getting Holy Win blades is the gems they come with. Specifically the Arturos gem. This gem adds 30 to all classes/affinities and boosts STR, INT, and AGL as well. This is the preferred gem for ultimate weapon building. =============================================================================== 6. Tips *Training Dummies* When attacking training dummies to gain class/affinity bonuses do not use chains. The dummies give out the bonuses based on hits received and chains only count as one hit. Chaining will only make a long hard job harder. [ Also, if you chain or attack for a long time you can end up "killing" the dummy. The only bonus you get for doing this is a few items which are rather pointless on second play. ] =============================================================================== 7. Alleviating The Boredom This could be the most important section of this whole document [ His, NOT mine that is! ]. Ultimate weapon building is a tedious process. Just the time with the training dummies takes hours, to say nothing of the time spent seeking the blades involved. I recommend setting a second TV up next to the set that the PSX is hooked up to. This way you can still use the controller and have something to pay attention to other than which part of the dummy you are hitting next. +---------+ | FAQ END | +---------+ And if you actually look at his FAQ it goes onto the credits section and he says that he got most of his info from someone posting on a VS Forum, so it isn't exactly his work. That means I am well within my right. Twice. -= 11.3. Creating Weapons =- Once you have forged your blade you can create your weapon. To do this you need to have a grip for the weapon. Try to get a grip with lots of Strength. These will become common nearer the end of the game. Grips determine how many gems you can place on you weapon. They can hold any amount from none all the way up to 3. This might not sound much but gems usually make or brake weapons. Once you have chosen the blade and grip you make it. Next you choose gems. You will collect gems on your journey and I will go into them in more detail. Thanks to Revolution reader PhoenixFire!
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